Recent articlesSorry for the long outage. I’ve been well harassed and punished for it. We’ve moved servers and hosts and should be much more speedy from now on. There shouldn’t be any major outages of the website for the forseeable future. So, check back often and see what new posts AskGlory has made!
Happy Labor Day!
I am grateful to the Labor Movement for the Monday to Friday work week, eight hour work days (although I’m personally pushing for a 6 hr work day 
) and the overall improvement of work conditions.
America is a wonderful country; I dare suggest she’s the best nation in the world to be a part of. But not that long ago even our beautiful country allowed some very unattractive standards.
These days if a rumor arises that a factory boss is not allowing the employees to leave until a big quota is met, the police (and news crews) would hustle over there without hesitation. 150 years ago holding workers hostage without food or breaks for the sake of production quotas was common place.
By the end of the 19th century workers who had moved to the cities from the farms in search of a better opportunity to achieve “The American Dream” realized that any chance at a dream was next to impossible working as de facto indentured servants. For the workers of The Industrial Revolution 12 hour shift work in airless factories filled with polluted air often stretched into 18+ hour shifts with few if any breaks. Sleep deprivation and a lack of adequate oversight by factory foremen and managers often resulted in injury or death for the workers manning the machines.
Labor Day has come a long way from its roots in the mid 19th century. We no longer have to contend with outbreaks of rioting because that month too many workers died while working for near slave wages in an unsafe factory. Gone are the stories and pictures of overworked children crippled while tending to textile machines. These days, the biggest concern I hear about in reference to Labor Day is whether the weather’s going to cooperate and how to prevent the potato salad from spoiling.
During your much deserved celebrations I hope you are also able to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold,” as Peter J. McGuire, the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor hoped.
Honor all the hard work that Americans before you have strived for this Labor Day by relaxing with your family and friends while enjoying today’s sunset.
With a cold drink in my hand,
Glory
(A few days ago a I read a twitter from Deepak Chopra about what values and qualities guide him. For what ever reason I haven’t been able to stop thinking about his statement. Here is my response.)
The values and qualities that constantly guide me are are:
finding and using the passion that upwells inside of me, nurturing relationships and focusing on my skills as a teacher.
What guides you?
Today, we mourn the loss of Lil’ Sucka. He is survived by Smalls, Meth-O (formally Methosaurus) and The Corey Posse. Lil’ Sucka’s parting was preceded by the tragic loss of Clyde Frog a year ago and Biggie, whose presence is still felt two years after his passing. Lil’ Sucka’s family asks that in lieu of condolence flowers to please donate fish food and aquarium plants to your local fish recue organization.
My Uncle Ike explained to me several years ago, everyone gets hurt in their day to day life but it’s our decision whether we hold onto that hurt and make a place for it on our heart or whether we let it go and let it stop affecting us.
A while ago I realized that happiness is a state of mind that has little to do with what’s going on in the outside world. You either decide to find happiness even in the face of adversity (and eventually everyone must face some kind of adversity) or you allow the hurt and injustices of the world to take away your happiness. It’s that simple.
You can either cling to your happiness or you can cling to your hurt. The problem with holding onto hurt is that while you are in that state of pain you cannot grow and develop as a person. You are stuck. In pain, your world will just continue to get smaller and smaller until there is nothing left of you but a caricature of your original personality and of course all the hurt and injustice ever done to you. To me that sounds like Hell on Earth.
As you continue to hold onto your happiness your world will continue to grow as it accommodates more and more people who are also finding and holding onto their happiness. As like begets like so you will, too. As you move to the blessed and grateful you will attract those like you and others who need support making the shift over to positive living. Through the security and support of your happiness and the people who populate your ever expanding world you will find yourself naturally refining and polishing your strengths and virtues while improving on your weaknesses and flaws.
Most of your improvements will evolve so effortlessly that by the time you reflect on who you were a few years ago you may be surprised by how much you have improved in aspects of your life that before you struggled with all the time but never seemed to ever make any progress in. This sounds like Paradise on Earth to me. Yes Virginia, sometimes Life really is that simple. You just have to hold out your hand in openness and love and let the rest take its course.
At my core I believe that we are all intricately connected in The Universe. We are all parts that together compose The Universe. And The Universe is a force as much as it is a thing. Wouldn’t you rather be happy than be hurt all the time? So would the rest of The Universe. Every time someone makes a decision to move forward, let go of the past with all its hurt and pain and instead relish the present and the joyful, it affects the rest of this great interconnectedness called The Universe. So it makes sense that with your decision to hold onto what is good and beautiful in your life and to let go of what causes you misery and heartache The Universe will open pathways for you to continue to grow, develop and be joyful.
About the Author:
Glory Fink is a writer, a housewife, a purveyor of euphemistically romantic materials, a photographer, a mystery wrapped in an enigma covered in cashmere. She can be found playing with Schrödinger’s cat, traipsing through the back roads of the Mississippi Delta or concocting experiments in her lab/kitchen. Glory does not suffer fools gladly but will gladly suffer endless tours at the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory as long as the samples keep coming. She does her best writing in her pajamas and her best sleeping out of them. Glory’s cat is suspicious, her dog obliging and her husband humored by her many antics and efforts to become in reality what she is in her dreams.
Glory can be found living the high life in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in a quaint (read: run down) house in a newly historic district but still less reputable side of town with her husband/best friend, a miniature dachshund, and one cat who isn’t. And various cats that came with the house; they are not pets as much as ninjas. Please feel free to email or call on Glory any time, her life could do with a few more interesting people.
Copyright © 2009, Glory Fink
For information about this work, please contact the author at the address set forth below. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce and distribute copies of this work for nonprofit educational purposes, provided that copies are distributed at or below cost, and that the author, source, and copyright notice are included on each copy. This permission is in addition to rights of reproduction granted under Sections 107, 108, and other provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act. Before making any distribution of this work, please contact Glory Fink to ascertain whether you have the current version. Permission inquiries can be made to Glory Fink at askglory@askglory.com.
Hey guys, just went through the user list and noticed a bunch of fake and spam user accounts had been created in the last few months. So, I went through and deleted the accounts without usernames or meaningful messages. So, if you were quiet and have just been reading AskGlory and I deleted your account I appologize sincerely. Just recreate your account and put a name down this time.
Thanks
1) Sorry I haven’t blogged much lately. i’ve been very busy/caught up in Life and haven’t had a chance. Also, sure I could write about my daily life but then how many people really want to read about my trials and tribulations with the HP LaserJet? It’s mostly me hurling insults at the printer and then whimpering and begging when that doesn’t work.
2) I’m now posting some stuff at The Burger. Check it out and read the other really good posts by other authors.
3) I’m also doing some paid writing work at VAM! Parties. So go have a looksey over there, too!
If you hear of any paying writing gigs or even unpaying but really interesting/fun gigs please let me know. Writing is the only thing that keeps me off the streets, you know. ;D
Much love,
Glory
2009 Weblog awards nomination time is almost at an end.
Nominations close at 10:00pm EST (9:00pm CST) tonight Monday, January 12.
I’m sure in all yourjourneys through the internet you have come across a few really notable blogs worth a HUZAH! or at leas a, “Hey, check out this website!” Now is your time to give a little love back and nominate your favorite blogs.
Ok, seems pretty straight forward. So go check it out and see what you think! http://2009.bloggies.com/
-Glory